JPX

Here is what the sender looks like on the right side (fuel pump + sender) side. The left side (sender only) looks similar.....but *ah-ha!* without a fuel pump on that side. The grey curvy part in the Fuel sender picture is the contact surface nipper is referring to. You could also check solder connections at the sender block if you believe a solder joint cracked or a wire is damaged.

Things I've tried over the years....and have pictures of: Volkswagen CIS injector seals. A Sharpie marker body works great for rolling those tough Viton seals over the injector tip. Removing the strut cartridge insert top nut. Jack handle on a pair of channel locks. Camshaft sprocket nut removal. A piece of scrap aluminum with a slot in it. Two bolts/nuts with sockets to stabilize the shaft while removing the nut. Timing hole cover - VW's have this plastic hex nut that covers the hole on the top of the transmission (for you boxer motor guys, that's because the Cabriolet motor sits SIDEWAYS ). I ground down a PVC pipe fitting to fit the hex and then drilled a hole for an small hex wrench to turn it. A friend of mine was helping replace my Legacy's rear struts. But since we couldn't get a spring compressor before the shop closed, he improvised with a rope and a breaker bar to twist it. I HIGHLY discourage anybody from attempting this recipe for disaster (but we still did both rear springs ) I have a proper spring compressor now. And drifting off to completely unrelated auto tools.....I made a clamping block out of old kitchen drawer knobs when repairing the bridge on my guitar.

7 years ago I took the headlights off my 96 Legacy to polish them. I had to break through the factory clearcoat which was a big pain since it is gummy and loads up the sandpaper. Once I broke through that, I used finer grades of wet-sanding to 2500 before machine polishing. I sprayed them with clearcoat from a rattle can. It has held up okay but is beginning to show signs of starting all over again. I have the 3M paint protection film on my Suburban. The installer did the hood, bumper and mirror edges. I used the scraps he left behind to put them on the truck's headlights. No sign of yellowing or damage - but maybe the plastic quality is different - and maybe the film is doing a great job preventing the problem! I think if I went through another round of headlight polishing, I would install the 3M paint protection film to the headlights of the Legacy.

I encountered the same thing on the axle nut, there was almost no turn between "hard to turn" to full torque. But I didn't have that many turns with a wrench to draw the races together, mostly turned the nut by hand.....but I think that was because I had just pressed in the hub and the races were pretty much dead on to each other.

Yeah, this is not something easily accomplished in the driveway with a basic set of tools. I was trying to avoid pulling out the heavier gear (air tools) to see how "simplified" I could make the bearing change. I still found it to be an interesting experience. But I realize not everyone has the equipment, the time or the location to do this even if they were inclined to do their own work. My suggestion to you is to use basic tools (some loaners from Oreily's and Autozone can save a ton of money for pullers and breaker bars) to remove the knuckle+hub assembly. Buy your own bearings and seals (online). Then have the local machine shop press out the old hub and bearing and install the new bearing and reinstall the hub. Reassemble the rest yourself. This is time consuming, but can save some decent money.

This morning I picked up Subaru's OEM seals. And sure enough the inner seal had the correct longer lip for going over the CV. When I got home in the evening, I stacked up the Harbor Freight kit on the vise to conduct three operations: 1. Evenly and easily press the inner seal into the knuckle. 2. Evenly and easily press the outer seal into the knuckle. 3. Press the hub into the bearing and knuckle assembly. 1. and 2. when smoothly. I had to swap out press plates to make sure I was pressing the seals evenly. The old outer race came in handy for the inner seal. 3. needed a very small press plate for this operation. This is important to make sure the inner bearing is supported when pressing in the hub. Almost forgot the brake dust shield. This is virtually impossible to install once the hub is mounted. Glad I caught this before I really started to crank on the hub. Again this was an easy process once the press kit was set up. No power tools - only the big hand wrench was necessary. You have to make sure the press plate is oriented correctly so the hub can be pressed fully. If the plate is facing the wrong way, then the hub end will bottom out and feel like it is done - but you will still see the exposed sealing surface on the hub for the outer seal. After all of this, reassembly of the front end was easy.....well except for the inner tie rod end I just spotted. I've already had to do the tier rod on other side. So that goes on the "eventually-to-do list". I eyeballed the strut mount bolt setting (basically "0" on the top eccentric bolt). Took the car for a drive. And wow is it so much quieter inside now. That rumbling by my left foot is gone. What is funny about making a LOUD noise go away is now you can hear other sounds more clearly (tire noise, wind noise - oh wait, do I hear a wheel bearing somewhere in the back now???) Alignment seemed to be okay - the car wasn't pulling either way. I'll hold off the trip to the alignment shop until I can see the tire wear pattern with this setting. Mission accomplished:headbang: - even though not exactly the way I thought it would be accomplished.

I tried to beat on the hub with the slide hammer again and finally had to make the tough call - it was time to abandon the knuckle/hub assembly. I was mad enough to remove it all from the car and take an air chisel to the backside of the hub. I was quite surprised that my air chisel blade became dead blunt and that the hub was STILL stuck in the knuckle. This isn't turning out at all like the plan. My conclusion with the original knuckle/hub is that the bearing damage is extensive enough to expect that the hub is heavily damaged. This would explain why it is so difficult to remove. That meant the practice parts are now THE actual replacement parts. Good thing I didn't mangle them during practice. At minimum I would need the hub - but the knuckle was also necessary now. Amazing that the 92 Legacy practice knuckle/hub is identical to my 96. It cleaned up pretty nice too with a wire brush and some WD-40. I started with pressing in the new bearing using the old outer race. It went in crazy easy with the Harbor Freight kit. Just a big wrench and a bunch of turns and the bearing went in nice and smooth. I cleaned up the junkyard hub and lightly polished the shaft with a diamond-abrasive lapping film (15micron) from a friend's lab. I also made sure to insert the snap ring - which is a great indicator if the bearing is indeed seated properly - if the bearing isn't all the way in, the snap ring won't go in properly. But then I hit a wall again. The seals I picked up from CarQuest were incorrect. Well, actually the outer seal was okay. But the inner did not have the extended lip - instead it just looked exactly like the outer seal. I had to stop for the night since the shops were closed.

I replaced the long block in my Legacy 2.2L with a rebuilt motor from CCR. It wasn't the smoothest operation since it was my first time working on a Subaru engine swap (had done VWs before, though) and there were some technical glitches that CCR prompted corrected. If you were curious about the work involved from an amateur's perspective, here is the write up from my 2.2L replacement experience. The CCR motor has been running for over 60K miles (6 years). So I think this was a good solution for my situation and CCR was eager to make sure this thing worked.

If we have already ruled out some type of drivetrain binding, then my suspicion would be the fuel pump. Do you have a full tank vs. an near empty tank? Does the stalling happen differently between the two tank conditions? When it stalls and you try to restart, try to listen for the fuel pump near the left rear seat. You might need a friend to help start the car while you listen to the pump. My Legacy was difficult to start when the pump started to let go. Then one day the fuel pump totally let go and the car simply would not start.. Also, on my 1989 VW Cabriolet, the car started to run terribly. It would stall occasionally at first but then spool up again without a restart. The situation deteriorated to the point that the car became harder and harder to keep running between stalls. Finally it wouldn't cooperate at all. Amusingly, if you beat on the pump with a tire iron from the top of the fuel tank and let it cool down (if it is a crazy hot day), you can make the pump spin a bit more and inch your way home.

Well, today I brought the car into the garage for the live fire wheel bearing change.... Everything went pretty smoothly preparing the area by removing the CV/axle and the brake caliper from the knuckle/hub. Then I set up the slide hammer and washers for pulling the hub. That thing refuses to come out. It only took 4-5 hits on the practice hub to get it off the knuckle. The hub on the car has been railed on with 50+ hits and even some air chisel action (blanked off with a bearing plate to protect the spline area). Stuck. Damn. Ran out of time this afternoon to get any further on it. But at least I know I am doing a repair worth doing. This is what the bearing sounds like (video).

Next up was the hub and the inner race. This was easy with an flat blade air chisel.....I chose this attack angle to avoid damaging the ABS tone ring. This worked okay on the vise until I got to the end of the hub. Then I had to take it off the vise and do it on the floor. But then after beating on the same spot of the race, it broke off a piece......thank goodness for safety glasses!

Well, I decided that hand wrenches weren't going to cut it. Superior Air Support was called in..... And after MANY catch-up cycles on my tiny 6 gallon compressor + 4 gallon slave tank......My impact wrench was able to beat that bearing out of the knuckle.

Well, I started pounding the right direction *doh* on the bearing.:-p The correct drive is from the outside of the knuckle to the inside. I managed to get the bearing moved about a 1/8th of an inch after HEAVY blows with the bearing plate and a carpenter's hammer. Yes - I can see why the hydraulic press is superior. I haven't given up hope on this rather stubborn method. But I am second-guessing if I want to replicate this on the car. I'm worried the forces involved could mess up the balljoint, tie-rod end and/or the strut mount if I beat on the real knuckle. For the sake of completeness, I'll try to continue with the practice hub until the out race is out:drunk:......just to say I did it (albeit perhaps badly).:-\

Fair enough. Gasoline does weird stuff to materials, but then again, there is a LOT of plastic on that pump/sender assembly. The wiring has worked fine so far. If it really became a problem, then I would go ahead and solder the connection. There isn't a lot of movement once the assembly is in the tank, so I think this is acceptable.

It just depends on your tolerance level. When I swapped motors, I used OEM for virtually everything. If something went wrong with that, detection and correction is severely aggravating. Now I don't consider a fuel pump to be the most convenient job out there, but it is reasonably easy to detect and fix - if you know what you are looking for. And that is kind of my point - I know what the devil looks like now, so I am willing to tolerate some "crappiness" of parts because I can zero in on it. Obviously this philosophy doesn't sit well with everyone. Probably wouldn't want to autocross or Formula 1 with Autozone parts anyway (might be kind of hilarious to see). But on a 16 year old car, I have to weigh the cost, the hassle and the functionality differently - this was a decision made with eyes wide open.

This is an important idea. I have tried to crank on the outer race from the knuckle with the HF kit. The forces involved are ENORMOUS and I am using BIG wrenches to turn the puller bolt. I tried beating on the outer race with one of the HF plates and a hammer. It is not apparent to me that this type of pounding is going to work - even with a slide hammer. On car might provide better attack angle. But with the practice knuckle not attached to anything, it is hard to apply hardcore slide hammer action. Have you actually been able to get the outer race out with the slide hammer? If so, then I'll give it a go.

Those red clips are from the fabric store - Clover wonder clips. Used for holding fabric folds when sewing. Not cheap. But I had them anyway. Clothes pins or large paper spring clips work fine too.

Hello and welcome. These are the possible leaking fluids: 1. Engine oil - usually black/brown and unless changed recently, will smell a little like gasoline. 2. Transmission fluid (automatic trans). Red fluid or light brown to brown. Lighter texture and with a mild sweet smell. 3. Gear oil - pungent dark brown or dark yellow. It stinks. And it is very heavy - washing your hands of it will be difficult. 4. Coolant - lots of colors, but usually a greenish/yellow or even a pink color. If it is old or contaminated, it will be brown. It feels watery - glycerin feel to it. Engine oil sources. Do you have a leak at the front of the motor? Most likely a front oil seal. Rear of engine - dripping on the exhaust manifolds? Most likely a rear main seal. This cannot be changed without removing engine or transmission. Also shown in the picture above - the engine oil drain plug. There is a crush washer that needs to be replaced at each change. I've been able to reuse them on engine oil changes, but it never works on transmission drain plugs.....always use a new one. It is possible some shops crank TOO HARD on the plug and crack or strip the threads of the oil pan - this cannot easily be resolved without a new oil pan or at least repairing the threads. Cylinder head valve covers. Sometimes these can leak. The gaskets can be changed in the car if absolutely needed - although much easier out of the car. There are 2 - one each side of the engine. Transmission fluid leaks - Drain plug and drain plug gasket - Pan gasket (look for the flat pan with LOTS of bolts holding it to the bottom of the transmission. - Front or rear seals - will leak fluid from a bad seal. Front cannot be changed without pulling engine or transmission. Rear seal requires taking out the driveshaft. - Cooling hoses at the radiator right in front of the battery. The trans fluid cooler hides out there with the main engine coolant radiator. Small hoses might have loose clamps or bad hoses. Gear oil leaks At the rear of the car there is a differential case. Sometime the side seals can leak. And more rarely, the fill/drain plugs might be leaking. The front differential might also be leaking. Look at where the axle shafts connect to the housing for any side seal leaks. Coolant leaks - Long list..... - Radiator - sometimes these crack and leak (easy to change - needs coolant change) - Radiator upper and lower hose (easy to change - needs coolant change) - Water pump - not easy to change, usually an indication the water pump bearing is about to blow. Do not ignore this possibility since it could lead to major engine damage (overheating and head gasket blowout) - various coolant hoses around the intake manifold - hoses leading through the firewall to the heater core. - Thermostat housing located under the waterpump Other fluids could include power steering (looks like automatic transmission fluid) and brake fluid (usually runs down the wheels and not under the car per se). If you can figure out where under the car the leak spots are on the ground, it can really help narrow down the possibilities. Hopefully this helps!

A couple of weeks ago I finally got around to replacing a CV/axle assembly on the front left wheel. The boot had been split for many months and I could hear the clicking/popping of the joint. That roll pin is a bit of a pain in the neck. But once it was out, everything else was pretty easy. What I found was a wheel bearing also starting to go. I didn't change it on the spot since I needed to get the car back together for the week. I have had a shop press a rear wheel bearing for me many years ago when I did an axle change. And a repair shop did the front bearings several years ago - which might explain why I currently have a bad front bearing. - idiot them for a poor job and idiot me for having them do it at all. I thought I would try my hand at a home bearing change - armed with none other than the Snap-Off tools brand Harbor Freight FWD bearing puller kit. To start with, I picked up a hub/knuckle assembly from the junkyard during the 50% off Memorial Day weekend sale. I figured I could practice on this unit without downing the actual car. The donor vehicle was a 92 Legacy sedan with 168K miles - RIP. The only problem was the HF kit does not include a hub puller. The challenge of using an is that the ABS tone ring is in the way. I wanted to simulate doing the work on the car to avoid realignment - but I am aware that I may ultimately have to take the knuckle off the car. So I picked up a slide hammer from AutoZone under the free loan-a-tool deal. The claw puller attachment turned out to be worthless. It doesn't fit the stud pattern on the hub. I got around this by using the washers from the HF kit on the end of the slide hammer to get behind the hub. A couple of easy whacks and the hub popped right out. The outer rollers and the inner race came out with the hub as expected. The real fun is yet to come - getting the outer race out of the knuckle/housing.

In June 2011, my 96 Legacy failed to start at the grocery store. And of course it would happen on a hot day, during rush-hour and when my wife had just bought a lot of ice cream for a kids party. Fortunately they got a ride home and saved the food. I was left with 100 degree weather in a blazing parking lot to figure out what was going on. This represented a unique situation for me. In the 180,000 miles of ownership, I would be facing a real defeat - having the car towed home. Determined to preserve some honor, I tried to troubleshoot the problem in the parking lot as the sun set. I knew I had charge, spark and ha-ha fuel in the tank. I couldn't determine if the fuel pump relay was acting up or if the pump was dead. It started to get dark and I simply couldn't get any further for the evening. The *whimper* call went out to AAA for a tow. About half and hour later, I met the tow truck driver by the car. I could tell he was sizing me up because he asked if the battery was good, the starter was good and all that. I told him that stuff checked out - and that I was pretty sure either the fuel pump or relay was the problem. He was surprised that I knew exactly where the fuel pump was when he asked - then remarked that I seemed to know the car pretty well. I should;) - I've pulled the motor, changed CVs, struts, brakes, and torn apart almost all the interior. Then he asked me a question that really threw me - is the fuel tank plastic or metal. Hmmm....don't know the answer to that - uh, why?. So he said to get in the car and get ready to start it. He ran back to the truck and brought out a hammer. I scrunched my eyebrows until he kneeled by the rear wheel and then I knew exactly what he was about to do! I started the car and he started pounding on the fuel tank from under the car. And sure enough the car started. He followed me home (less than 2 miles) as I drove . The car stalled at the halfway point (at an intersection of course) and he lept out of the truck and started pounding on the tank again until the car started. And sure enough, I drove the car home and maintained the streak of never being towed. The best part was we were able to pinpoint exactly the problem. All I needed was a new pump. Pulling the pump is pretty easy. But you keep your cool about getting the hoses off the top and the puzzle of extracting the pump/sender stack out of the fuel tank. Not a lot to it. - Disconnect the harness - run the engine until it stalls to depressurize the fuel hoses. - unclamp the three hoses (tape and mark them if you think you will forget what goes where) - remove the harness connector, the hoses, and unscrew the nuts that hold the lid to the fuel tank. - extract the fuel pump/sender stack - watch for the float as it will try to snag inside the tank. Keep rags and a plastic tray handy so you don't spill gas all over the interior. - Installation is the reverse. Once you have the stack is out, you can remove the pump. When I tested the pump off the stack and with a 12V source, it didn't spin at first. It started spinning when I struck it with a hammer. I made sure to test the new pump with 12V before reassembly. The new pump was slightly different and needed different wiring lugs to fit the terminals. You might need new hose clamps to connect the pump to the stack tube if you the original clamps are crimp-style (not reusable). Be careful of polarity of the wires. The lower rubber end cap might need to be crammed onto the bracket if it has a slightly different shape. Use the included zip-tie to hold the pump boot and body to the stack frame. After installation , the car worked great! Fast forward 11 months and the car died again - this time it tried to warn us by sputtering and THEN failing to start. I couldn't hear the fuel pump whirring when starting the car. And a some pounding on the top of the pump with a rubber mallet made the car sputter at start which meant the pump was a factor. I pulled out the assembly and tested the fuel pump with 12V, and this time NOTHING would make the pump motor turn (even beating it on the driveway). I took it back to Autozone for a warranty claim (less than 3 weeks or warranty to go!). They exchanged it under warranty with no hassle at all. Reassembled and reinstalled and the car works again. Lessons: - If the car stalls/sputters - try beating on the tank or pump when starting to rule out fuel pump. If it still doesn't work, at least hitting something give some satisfaction. - cheapo parts - you get what you pay for.....at least this came with a warranty that the store honored. Hope this helps someone out someday!

Hello all. This post I will be showing how to replace the fabric on the sun visors from a 1996 Legacy. This is a common method across a variety of models and even across other Japanese makes. The fabric was coming off the drivers size. The visor is a clamshell design where the fabric is wrapped around an MDF (cardboard) core and then the halves are folded and glued together. A. Obtain headliner fabric - I bought a little too much at 2 feet x 6 feet. Hancock Fabrics has several colors of the headliner fabric. It has the same thin stretchy fabric as the original visor and a thin layer of foam on the backside. B. Contact cement. Weldwood comes to mind. C. Lots of clothes pins D. Sharp scissors E. clean padded work surface so you don't stain, snag the new fabric when reassembling the visor. 1. Remove visor from the car - 2 Phillips screws per visor 2. Remove excess torn fabric - so you can better see what you are doing 3a. Get a putty knife and start to separate the halves of the visor. Be very careful not to twist the putty knife as you will damage the visor when you apply too much leverage in one spot. 3b. I took this a step further by using the oscillating multi-tool with a flat blade (putty knife) attachment. This made things go a lot faster. But make sure you stay parallel to the half-line so you don't angle into the backing material. 4. Open the visor carefully to reveal the split halves. Pay attention to the plastic hook (for the mount closest to your rear view mirror) since that is also glued into the halves. 5. Clean up and shredded edges and loose material. You do not have to complete remove the hard spray foam unless it is loose or torn. The hard foam plays a role in securing the glues halves together and can still be "reused" when you reassemble. 6. For the passenger visor, you also have a mirror to watch out for. This will probably fall out since the foam fails before the glue does.Remember this is very light foam not to be confused with the heavy duty foam in the seats. 7. Use the visor backing material as a guide for the new fabric. Leave it "big" so you can trim to size. Keep in mind that the fold itself "uses" material and should be factored into the total size of the new fabric. 8. Do a dry run first with your big pile of clothes pins to make sure the fabric fits and can be secured well prior to glue. You may need to add relief cuts for the inside and outside corners. It is important you do not "bunch up" the fabric on the corners because the extra fabric layers will reduce the strength of the glue bond when closing the halves later. 9. Remove the fabric and run a bead of contact cement along the edge of the visor where the fabric will wrap around. Let the contact cement "set up" and get tacky before attempting to glue down the edges of the new fabric. If the contact cement is too wet, the glue with soak through the fabric and create ugly yellow stains on the fabric. 9a. For the passenger side mirror, you can glue a thicker block of foam to the mirror and then to MDF backing plate of the visor. You want to space it up enough for the mirror to sit in the frame at a good matching height. Insert the mirror if applicable. 9b. Insert the plastic pin and make sure it is glued to one side or the other. 10. Set the edges with the clothes pins overnight You want to let it set firmly because you will be pulling pretty hard on the fabric when you fold over the edge. So you want to the glue to be well set before the big fold. 11. Inspect your work and make final tweaks to the glue fabric 12. Put a bead of contact cement around the edges on top of the pulled-over fabric. Also put glue on the hard foam - especially where the hard foam was touching the other half of the MDF. Let the contact cement set up before folding over the visor. 13. Check the pin position and fold over the visor. Make sure the seam is straight and even. Use larger spring clamps and lots of clothes pins to secure the halves. Tip - you can use an old gift card (iTunes, credit card, guitar picks) to push the fabric in between the halves as the glue begins to set up. You may need to do this to even out the fabric and it tends to stretch as the halves are folded. This can be done before the glue sets completely. You might have to be creative with small quantities of of contact cement for areas where the pushed in fabric won't stay down. Be careful since any soaked through glue will appear as a yellow stain on exposed fabric. 14. Reinstall in car. You might want to leave the windows open where possible since the fumes will be pretty strong for the next 1-2 days. A variation on the contact cement is to use spray foam (similar to the insulation expanding foam. But I would only use this for strengthening areas where the MDF has been damaged or adding bracing in the "open spaces" of the folded halves if the visor feels like it is flexing too much. I don't recommend the expanding foam for glue the folded halves together because it is was too difficult to control where it squeezes out of/into and ultimately making a big mess. Happy visoring!

Not sure what year and model you are referring to. But for many 2.2Ls and I think even the 2.5L, you need to loosen the alternator tensioner to get that belt off before changing the AC belt and ultimately the timing belt. Make sure you also loose the pivot bolt of the alternator so it is easier to loosen or tighten the tensioner. Then tighten the pivot bolt after you have the tension set.

Whole instrument cluster from the junkyard is the most direct solution. You could harvest just the speedometer and switch just that part or the odometer module. Besides, if you get the replacement cluster, you can then play around with the old one. The odometer most likely got screwed up by someone messing around with the mileage. That said, the damage could be from a spun gear on the mainscrew of the odometer - sometimes the plastic gears (or even the metal ones) can spin on their shafts. The example below is from my VW Cabriolet, but the same principle applies. The metal gear (on the left side of the odometer assembly) kept spinning on the shaft and would not turn the numbers. I staked the inner part of the gear to prevent it from spinning on the shaft. It has worked for 6 years since. And if the things still can be fixed, then get a bunch of LEDs and use the extra cluster for upgrading the look of the lights!

I kind of have the same thing going on with my 1996 Legacy sedan. Ever since the rear window was replaced, the defrost does not work. However, in my case, the relay does click when the switch is turned on. But I do not get power at the glass grid. So something in between is playing hard-to-get. The relay is located just behind the OBD port on the left side of the dash - pretty much behind the hood release lever. You might want to check that out. See if you can test the on the bench - actuating the coil side to see if it clicks. then check continuity on the contacts when the coil is engaged.

You might want to check the starter solenoid contacts. When they wear out, the solenoid plunger can't conduct enough to turn over the starter motor. You can replace the solenoid or even the entire starter. But a lower cost solution would be to pick up a set of copper contacts from an alternator repair shop for a few bucks and polish up the plunger with a piece of sandpaper.